Part 38 (1/2)
”He didn't know I'd been whipped too. All the anger left him when he saw my back. You lied to him.”
”You're crazy. This is crazy.” Malik turned to his father.
”You pushed us under a bus. That was you, not Ras.h.i.+d.”
”Why would I do such a thing?”
”Because you've always hated me.” Haris turned to his father. ”It was Malik who told the police that Ras.h.i.+d and I had gone to the hotel.”
His father gasped. ”Why...why didn't you tell me this before?”
”You believe him?” Malik yelled. ”He's lying.”
”Oh my G.o.d,” Tyler whispered.
”You were on the street when I was taken away by the police,” Haris said. ”I saw the smirk on your face. Then one of the policemen let it slip, deliberately I suspect.”
”You should have told me,” his father whispered.
Haris shrugged. ”What difference would it have made? I'd still have been put on trial, whipped, exiled. You'd have lost two sons perhaps, not just one.”
His father's fingers tightened on the chair arms. ”Malik was always jealous of you. You were brighter, happier, better at everything.”
”Of course you say that. You loved him more.” Malik spat out the words.
”No, I did not.”
”You still talk about him. I wonder how Haris is. I wonder what Haris is doing. I wonder if Haris is happy. You care more about a son who is missing than the two you have with you.”
”You betrayed your brother when you were only a boy,” his father said. ”You couldn't have understood the consequences. You've lived with the guilt...”
Yes, he f.u.c.king did understand. He's a b.l.o.o.d.y cuckoo.
His father put his head in his hands.
Why did I tell him? What has it gained me? Haris's momentary pleasure that he'd finally told his father the secret he'd kept in his heart and that he'd been believed faded to regret. He glanced at Tyler. Some things were best left unspoken. He'd forced Tyler's hand by having him investigated. Haris wasn't sure whether or not he was glad he knew about the movies, about the parties. How could you ever know if you'd done the right thing? But he kept a further suspicion locked away, that his mother had discovered Malik had betrayed him and taken her own life.
His father rose from the chair and walked to stand in front of Malik. ”Think before you answer my next question, because Haris and Tyler must speak to the police tomorrow and you will be arrested. Did you try and kill your brother and his friend by pus.h.i.+ng them under a bus?”
Malik scowled. ”They can't prove anything.”
His father sighed. ”Those few words tell me everything.”
”I've done nothing,” Malik said.
”Well, then you won't worry if the police want to question you.” Haris gave him a grim smile.
”f.u.c.k you,” Malik whispered. ”f.u.c.k you and f.u.c.k your wh.o.r.e.” He glared at Tyler.
”Don't speak of him like that.” Haris clenched his fists. ”He's more of a man than you could ever be. If you had a problem with me, all you had to do was talk to me. Instead, you hid behind Ras.h.i.+d. It's your fault he's dead.”
His father groaned and Malik fled to his side. ”Are you in pain?”
Haris took in the way Malik held his father's hand and the look that pa.s.sed between father and son and sucked in a deep breath. He couldn't put things right but he could avoid making them worse. ”Pack your bags and leave now. Go to Heathrow, catch a flight out of the country tonight.”
Malik hesitated. His father pinned his gaze on Haris, and then Malik moved across the room to haul a suitcase from the closet.
”I'll take you back to your hotel,” Haris told his father.
”Leave us a moment,” his father said.
Haris nodded to Tyler and they slipped out of the room. He leaned on the wall next to the part-open door.
Haris sighed. ”Now you know my secrets too.”
”Except you were a victim,” Tyler muttered.
”Weren't you a victim too?” he asked in a quiet voice.
”I chose to do what I did.”
”You were still a victim.”
”Malik,” he heard his father say. ”Was life so bad?”
”He's the reason my mother is dead,” Malik barked.
”No, he's not.”
”I wanted her to love me as she loved him.” Malik's voice cracked.
”She did. And I love you. Come home. Be with me at the end.”
Haris had heard enough. He strode down the corridor to the elevator. Tyler followed. By the time his father came to them, Haris had his emotions back under control.
”I'll remain here and leave with Malik.” His father gave him a sad smile.
”I thought you might stay longer,” Haris said.
”He needs me. You never did. Be happy, my eldest son.”
Haris stepped into his father's arms and they hugged each other.
”I could come. I could-”
”No. The risk is too great. We all have enemies. Better not to give them the means to destroy us.”