Dark Harbour: The Tale of the Soul Searcher Read Free Page B

wouldn’t have been out of place in a film playing the role of Superman or Flash Gordon (if he had blonde hair). Stepping into the flat he removed his hat and shook hands with his grandfather.
    Jeremy could now see that he had warm blue eyes, just like Superman’s funnily enough. Suddenly those eyes were peering directly at him. The man crouched down.
    ‘Hello there, young man. You must be Jeremy.’
    How does he know my name? Jeremy thought.
    ‘That’s him,’ Ulric said. ‘His brother Simon is at Harbour High but the other schools were full.’
    ‘Oh, you should have had a word with me. Not that he minds starting his summer holidays a little early, eh Jeremy?’ The gentleman flashed his smile at him and Jeremy didn’t feel quite so timid, even stepping forwards to stand by his grandfather’s leg.
    ‘I’ve been taking him to see the places round here,’ Ulric said, ruffling his grandson’s hair.
    ‘Do you like your new home then, Jeremy?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘A bit different from where you came from, isn’t it? Outsiders often feel out of place.’
    ‘Not Jeremy,’ Ulric vouched. ‘He’s already got that Harbour kick in his voice.’
    ‘You know what they say. You can’t take the Harbour out of the boy, but you put the boy in the Harbour…’
    ‘…And he’ll drown.’
    They both laughed, but Jeremy frowned at their joke.
    ‘Jeremy, do you want to go and play with your toys for a bit? Me and Alan need to have a chat.’
    ‘Here, maybe I’ve got a sweet for you,’ the gentleman, Alan, said. He rummaged into his jacket and brought out a bag of mints. Jeremy saw on the packet that they were mint humbugs, whatever they were. He took one.
    ‘What do you say?’ Ulric asked him.
    ‘Thank you, Mr…’
    ‘Oh!’ Alan laughed. ‘You can call me Alan. Only people I don’t like call me Mr Hammond!’
    Ulric patted a hand on Alan’s back. ‘Come through.’
    The mint humbug was quite a hard sweet at first and so blandly minty that Jeremy thought about spitting it out. As he continued to suck on it, he eventually got to a gooey, sweet centre that made the initial hardness worthwhile.
    Ulric and Alan Hammond talked over coffee for well over an hour, so long in fact that they had not finished talking by the time that Simon returned from school. As soon as he stepped inside, he heard the muffled voices beyond the kitchen door.
    ‘Who’s he talking to?’ Simon asked his brother.
    ‘Alan.’
    ‘Who the hell’s he?’
    ‘A friend, a good friend.’
    ‘What are they talking about?’ There was urgency in Simon’s voice but none in Jeremy’s.
    ‘I don’t know.’
    Simon rolled his eyes then approached the kitchen door. He immediately cocked an ear to it. Jeremy didn’t think that his brother should have been doing that but he did not dare voice his disapproval.
    Jeremy saw the frown form within Simon’s heavy eyebrows and they betrayed the growing fiery emotions that festered within him. He didn’t bother asking Simon what he could hear. He didn’t have to anyway because once Alan Hammond had left, Simon was ready to burst.
    ‘I want to help you, Granddad. Tell me what to do!’
    What the heck is he saying? Does he think he’s a gangster?
    ‘Oh, Simon,’ Ulric replied and then sighed.
    ‘Let’s go get them. We can take them on.’
    Them? Who are them? Jeremy looked to his grandfather.
    ‘Just because you were eavesdropping doesn’t mean you have any idea what you’re talking about.’
    ‘Yeah? I saw that letter. The one from T.H.M.’
    Their grandfather looked surprised and for a moment his moustache stiffened. ‘And do you have any idea who he is?’
    ‘Well… no.’
    ‘And let’s keep it that way.’ Ulric wandered over to the cabinet and brought out a bottle of whisky and a glass. ‘I appreciate your concern, my boy. But someone’s already helping.’ Ulric poured out a generous tot. ‘This isn’t a problem with the school bully I’m having here, Simon.’
    ‘I know. I just