He bought eight more cars and recruited more female drivers and some female minders. The next step was to recruit male personal protection personnel, as most of his high profile customers seemed to expect it. These were all ex-police or army, and many had been discharged for excess violence.
In 1991, he sold the business for a huge profit and moved his cash into property. He bought up huge swathes of land that were not yet ripe for development, but a good source informed him that in five years the value of the land would be quadrupled.
His source was wrong; the value went up by a factor of ten after just three years!
He found himself on a rollercoaster of his own making, and he was unsure whether he wanted to get off, or even how to get off.
In the meantime he married Sharon, his girlfriend from their schooldays, and they had Roddy in 1993. The marriage didn’t last, as he was, by his own admission, never there and not exactly faithful.
His second marriage to Caroline, the daughter of an impoverished landowner from Wiltshire, was a whole new experience. For the first time in his life, Richard slowed down and became the epitome of respectability. His father-in-law was able to restore his family home to its former glory, imparting a fair degree of respectability to his son-in-law in return.
Their daughter Natalie was a good deal younger than Roddy, and she was very much the clone of her mother. Roddy, on the other hand, was a chip off the old block. Richard did not like seeing the reflection of himself at sixteen, but without the intelligence.
Tall, good-looking and impeccably dressed, Richard no longer looked like a milkman’s son made good. His hair was turning silver, but he was slim, trim and very fit. After all, he spent enough time in their gym and pool at their home on the River Thames. However, although he tried hard, when stressed, the ‘South London’ boy was evident.
He wasn’t sure what he hoped to glean from his meeting with the boy Roddy attacked. The meeting was perhaps sparked by the guilt he carried for failing to parent his son when he needed it, a lot more and a lot earlier!
Mr Pettifer accompanied him to meet the boy, whom they found in the sick-bay, sitting in a small lounge watching TV.
He was a pale and slender boy, slightly effeminate, but good-looking and alert. Richard decided that the long hair was what made him look faintly girlish. He personally didn’t like long hair on a boy, but he shook off the prejudice, and made an effort to be non-threatening and genuinely concerned.
They sat on the neighbouring chairs and the boy turned the TV off as they sat down.
“Kenneth, this is Roddy’s father, Richard Myers. He wants to make sure you’re all right and assure you that Roddy will not trouble you again.”
Kenneth looked unimpressed and somewhat sceptical.
Richard laughed.
“Okay, I can see you’re not convinced, and I understand that completely. This is not a case of me trying to be over protective, which, I admit, I might have done in the past. You see, young man, I have a problem with Roddy, much of it of my own making, and I need to understand him better if I am to sort him out. Can I just ask you some questions?”
“If you want.”
“Mr Pettifer has explained about this incident, and I am not bothered about it, to be completely honest. I am sorry it happened, and am grateful that you do not wish to pursue charges, although, perhaps that might give Roddy the sharp shock he may need. I don’t happen to believe that the criminal justice system would deliver him a sharp enough shock, as all it appears to do is play at giving penalties to criminals these days.”
This statement surprised both Kenneth and the Headmaster.
“No; what I need to know is what makes Roddy do the things he does. I understand you’ve been a year-mate of Roddy for a few years?”
“Yeah, a few.”
“Have you crossed swords with him before?”
“About every week for as long as I’ve known him.”
“Why?”
“Good question; I certainly don’t know. We don’t mix in the same groups, we don’t share many classes, and I’m not into the sports he plays. I keep out of his way for the most part, and yet, he will seek me out to be deliberately intimidating and aggressive.”
“Is it just towards you, or are there others?”
“I’m not the only one by any stretch of the imagination, but he does like picking on me.”
“And you don’t know why?”
“I have a suspicion,” Kenneth said.
“Yes?”
“Now, I’m not the most macho bloke, but he picks on anyone smaller, boy or girl. However, when he picks on me, he mostly seems to derive enormous pleasure from accusing or suggesting that I’m gay. Yet, my suspicion is that he’s struggling with his own sexuality, possibly feeling attracted to me, and hating himself for it. Therefore, the only way he can deal with it is to become aggressive towards me,” Kenneth said, glancing at the Headmaster.
Richard sat there, both shocked and surprised. He blinked several times, on the verge of returning an angry denial on behalf of his son. However, as an intelligent man, the boy’s words sounded quite reasonable. The silence drew longer, so Kenneth began to feel awkward.
“Can I say that whether I am gay or not is irrelevant? As it happens, I’m not, but I have done nothing to entice or attract Roddy, or even to deliberately annoy him, so one has to ask why he consistently picks on me with homophobic insults.”
Richard nodded. He had never considered this. He had considered most things, but never this. He reflected on his own attitudes to homosexuality, and knew he’d been vociferous about how unnatural and disgusting he felt all gay people to be. He felt a little more guilt settle on his shoulders. One never knows quite what psychological baggage you pass on to your children without thinking. If Roddy was gay, or even questioning his sexuality, and knowing that his father had such extreme views on the matter, how would he deal with it?
He stood up.
“For a young guy, you’ve an extremely wise head on your shoulders. You’ve given me things to think about that I had not considered, so for that I thank you. Roddy will not be returning to this school, as I think we’re going to have to rethink his education, and, well, we’re going to have to do lots of stuff if we’re going to get him sorted.”
Richard shook Kenneth by the hand, thanked the Headmaster and went off to collect his son.
Mr Pettifer regarded Kenneth in a new light, for the second time.
“Just to let you know that Dr Anne Dobson will be here at one thirty. Once she has seen you, then I suggest you stay here until the time to go home.”
“Thanks sir.”
Linda was euphoric, as she had secured a contract worth over six figures for her company. The only fly in the ointment was Kenneth, whom she had completely forgotten. She rang the school to be told that he had gone home by bus as usual and he appeared to have recovered.
She felt angry that he was, yet again, burdening her with trivialities that prevented her from achieving her potential. The next emotion she experienced was guilt for feeling the way she did. Then she felt angry towards her husband for caring more about his job than he did her, and never being there to share the burden that was their son.
By the time she got home, early for a change, she was in a foul mood.
She left her car on the drive, instead of putting it away as normal. She had arranged to see Yvonne later, just to give her a chance to unwind and vent her spleen to someone who cared.
Coming in the back door for a change, Linda walked into the kitchen to find a strange young woman sitting eating toast at the breakfast bar. Homework was spread around the worktop.
She was a pretty girl with a lovely figure. How Linda wished she had a figure like hers. She was dressed in a tee shirt and shorts. She looked at Linda and then at the clock, with an expression of undisguised shock on her face.