Beyond the Horizon Read Free Page B

the magistrate that Sean’s client had proved himself serving his country.
    â€˜Good. We can use that,’ Sean said.
    â€˜There is one other thing, boss,’ Harry said with a frown. ‘Word on the streets is that Firth has returned.’
    â€˜Is that going to be a worry for us?’ Sean asked.
    Harry’s frown deepened. ‘We both know that he works for George Macintosh. There’s history between you and Macintosh and I reckon he’s out to get you.’
    Harry was too polite to mention Sean’s brief affair with Macintosh’s wife, although they both knew that was the ‘history’ he referred to.
    â€˜I think you need to be very careful,’ Harry said, leaning forward slightly to push home his point. ‘I can get you a pistol.’
    â€˜That won’t be necessary, Harry,’ Sean said with a smile. ‘I have my cane.’ It doubled as a weapon, with a deadly spring-loaded blade inside the stick.
    Harry didn’t look reassured. ‘I still think you should carry a pistol. I can get one of those small .38s from an old mate who imports them from the Yanks.’
    â€˜I’m right, thanks, Harry,’ Sean said. ‘Besides, I have you around to watch my back.’
    Harry’s frown turned into a beaming smile at this acknowledgement. ‘If there’s nothing more, I’ll see what else I can get in the Morgan case.’
    â€˜I’ll inform Mr Morgan that he owes you a beer for all your effort in his defence.’
    â€˜I swore to the missus that alcohol would never pass my lips again,’ Harry responded sheepishly. ‘It has improved the situation with the family.’
    Sean rose awkwardly, grasping the cane tightly, and held out his hand to Harry. ‘Good to hear. I’ll tell him he owes you a bonus, then.’
    â€˜Thanks, boss,’ Harry said, matching the steely grip. ‘I’ll get back to you before the case is heard if I get anything else.’
    â€˜Good man,’ Sean said, and watched as Harry Griffiths left his office. He had only been gone for a moment when young Michael Hopkins put his head around the door.
    â€˜Mail for you, Major Duffy,’ he said, walking into the office and placing an envelope on Sean’s desk. Sean could see that the young man was bursting to tell him something.
    â€˜You look like the cat that got the cream, young Hopkins,’ Sean said.
    â€˜I’ve been accepted, Major Duffy,’ the young man burst out excitedly. ‘I start my training next week.’
    â€˜The solicitors’ admission board?’ Sean replied in a puzzled tone. ‘I thought you had a year left to go on your articles.’
    â€˜No, Major Duffy, I’ve been accepted for the army. I’m going to get a chance to do my bit like you did.’
    â€˜How old are you?’ Sean asked sternly.
    â€˜Eighteen, sir,’ Hopkins replied, and he looked as though he was starting to regret sharing his wonderful news of enlistment.
    â€˜If I remember rightly, Master Hopkins,’ Sean said, ‘you are only seventeen.’
    â€˜Sir,’ he pleaded. ‘I need to do my bit for the country. I know I lied about my age but I think you would have done the same thing in my place.’
    Sean stared at the young clerk; he was little more than a boy, really. He knew him as a bright, hard-working young man with an assured future in law. But what he saw standing before him was a bloody, bleeding soldier screaming for his mother as the red-hot shrapnel tore away his flesh. Sean swayed unsteadily in his chair, gripping the edge of his desk.
    â€˜Are you ill, sir?’ Hopkins asked but Sean shook his head. He had the power to derail the enlistment, but he could see the age-old eagerness in him to prove himself on the battlefield. Sean knew that would disappear pretty quickly when the first shells and bullets tore into those around him, and possibly into the clerk himself.