I managed to leave the hospital,

Without being detected,

But then Denoy and his chauffer left,

Without being suspected.

And I knew that if they found me,

My fate would then be sealed,

So I determined to lay low,

At least until my wounds were healed.

As the days and weeks went slowly by,

I learnt of the woman’s fate,

From an old newspaper article,

That was three weeks out of date.

It seems, by a disused quarry,

Her body had been found,

Beaten, sexually abused,

Then eventually drowned,

The police had no leads to go on,

That’s if indeed they tried,

And her husband claimed that she had left him,

Though obviously he lied,

But he was rich and powerful,

With influential friends,

And an attitude that believed,

The means are justified by the end.

While I was just a factory worker,

In way above his head,

That stopped one night to have a drink,

And almost wound up dead.

I was no movie hero,

I’d never been to Vietnam,

I had no black belt in karate,

I was just an ordinary man,

And one learning very quickly,

That life’s not always just,

Knowing that I needed help,

But did not know who to trust,

I could not go to my brother,

And drag him into this,

For Denoy’s the kind that to get to me,

Would use his wife and kids,

No! This would be my problem,

I’d have to sort it out myself,

And that’s when a thought occurred to me,

I look like someone else.

That reconstructive surgery,

Changed how I appear,

Would they recognize me?

If I didn’t get too near?

I had to test the theory,

So i went to where my brother drank,

Sat close and offered him a light,

And all he said was thanks.

If my own brother didn’t know me,

Then there’s a good chance nor would they,

And suddenly it seemed at last,

Things might just go my way.

(To Be Continued)

By S.E.Ralph

26-7-2019