Angel and the Assassin 3: Sins of the Father

here.” They sat in the living room
    with the TV on while they chatted. “Sharon, has Shawn been to jail before?”
    “Loads of times,” she answered, shaking her head.
    “Has Daddy ever bailed him out before?”
    “No. I wouldn’t have asked him this time either, but you know, with the charge
    being what it was.”
    Quietly he asked, “What are they saying he did? Daddy didn’t tell me anything.
    He was really quiet on the way here.”
    Sharon put her mug on the coffee table. The tightness about her mouth told him
    she was worried and probably hadn’t slept much. “I think he’s as upset as I am over
    this. He was really fond of Shawn when he was a kid.”
    “Because he lived with you, right?”
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    “For about nine months. Then he left, and I only ever saw him on and off after
    that. He was off to prison for different things, you know.”
    “And now you’re dating him again?”
    “Yeah. Anyway some teenager said Shawn molested him, and that’s why I was so
    worried. They don’t like fellas in jail who do things like that.”
    “I knew it!” Everything fell into place. “Oh God, no wonder Daddy was so upset. I
    told him guys like that always do it again and he wouldn’t believe it, but it’s true. I saw
    it on America’s Most Wanted .”
    “No, Shawn didn’t do anything. He’s a thief, but he’s not a pedo.” Realization
    dawned slowly in Sharon’s face. “Hang on. What do you mean, do it again? Angel!
    What did Kael tell you?”
    She doesn’t know! What have I done?
    A combination of panic and shock took over Sharon’s face. Putting down his mug,
    Angel moved closer to her on the couch. “I thought you knew.”
    “Knew what? Angel, tell me.”
    Swallowing hard, he knew there was no way out of this now. “He didn’t tell me
    exactly. I read it in his diary.”
    Incredulous, Sharon looked at him. “Kael writes a diary? Why? He’s never done
    anything like that before. Did Shawn do something to Kael when he was a kid?” When
    Angel didn’t answer, she said, “He did, didn’t he? That’s why Kael knew it was a boy.
    When I told him on the phone, he asked right away how old the boy was. He knew it
    was a boy.”
    “Sharon, I’m so sorry. I thought you knew.” Angel was on the verge of tears.
    “Do you think I’d go out with that bastard again if I knew he’d touched my son, or
    any kid for that matter?” Sharon gaped at him.
    “No, I guess not, now I think of it. I’m sorry. Holy dumb idiot. I’ve screwed up so
    badly. Daddy’s going to kill me.”
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    * * * *
    The look of relief on Shawn’s face when he spotted Kael walking into the visiting

    room made the pleasure of telling him he had no intention of bailing him out even
    greater. The cut over his eye and the swollen cheek proved someone else wasn’t happy
    with him either.
    “Thanks for coming, Kael. Your mum said you’d come. You took your time,
    though. I’ve been here since Wednesday.”
    Looking around the brightly lit, utilitarian room with its plain tables and chairs all
    screwed to the floor, Kael said, “Unlike you, some of us have to work.”
    “Don’t be like that, mate.”
    Shawn sat on one side of a table. The visitors were expected to sit opposite, which
    was fine with Kael. He wanted no physical contact with this man ever again.
    Maneuvering his long, lean body onto the uncomfortable plastic chair, he said, “You
    did it. Didn’t you?”
    “Look, Kael, he wanted it just like you wanted it.” He reached a hand across the
    table as if he expected Kael to take it.
    Leaning back in his seat to avoid contact, Kael said, “But this kid obviously didn’t
    want you fucking him, because he told the police. How old was he?”
    “Fourteen and I never fucked him. It never got that far.”
    “How far did it go?”
    Belligerent, playing the victim as always, Shawn said, “What difference does it
    make? I touched him a bit, that’s all. He led me on. I’m not going down for this. It’s his
    word against mine.”
    “You are going down. You’re going to plead guilty so that boy doesn’t have to go
    to court,” Kael said.
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    “Not a chance.” Shawn crossed his arms over his chest. “Why are you acting all
    fucked-up about this? You were happy at the time. You said you loved me. What about
    that day in London?”
    What a fool he was. With all his experience of the world