This is Only the Start

damages.

Chapter 1

The music in the town centre pub was in full swing and reaching cacophonic proportions. It was a popular venue on Friday and Saturday evenings as the entertainment appealed to all ages, and thus, all ages turned up, whether they be teenagers or the more progressive pensioners. There was usually a singer or a small-sized band with the middle section of the evening devoted to karaoke, not your average karaoke with hopeless drunks constantly singing Waterloo, My way or Like a virgin, but quality singers who, with a little coaching or more self-determination might have made it at one time onto the minor professional circuits.

This particular Friday evening was no exception and the audience was comprised of regulars, some of whom were looking forward to performing, some who visited infrequently and some who had never been before. One reason as to why the evening was a success was because the landlord, one Ronnie Cook and his wife, vetted most of the aspiring artists and those who were too drunk, too out of tune or too thick to read the correct words were banned from going anywhere near the microphone. And so it was tonight.

One of the volunteers was a person by the name of Clive Denbury who was a regular karaoke performer. The regulars knew Clive’s history but newcomers would probably not remember him especially if the were under a certain age. For Clive Denbury was a member of the popular ‘sixties group, The Neutrons, who had a string of hits during that period including three Number Ones. In those days he was known as Chuck and was adored then by thousands of teenage girls and probably a few boys as well.

When the group disbanded in the early ‘seventies, his solo career was nowhere near as successful as that of his fellow group member and friend, Eddie Jackson whose solo career lasted well into the ‘nineties, particularly in the States where the group as an entity had been very popular. He had no particular hang-ups about it and had been content to tour the Sixties nostalgia circuits with his Chuck Denbury’s Neutrons group. He had little financial worries as his wife, the beautiful and sexy Carol, as he always called her, saw to it that his high earnings at the time were wisely invested.

Clive always appreciated the talent that was on show and showed his appreciation very enthusiastically. Occasionally he was asked to duet with some of the regular female singers.

It was soon to be his turn and besides taking on one or two of the more familiar tunes, he would also sing a couple of his old hits. Tonight the old Neutrons favourites of Perhaps you were right and Please don’t let the morning come were belted out along with Bohemian Rhapsody where Clive had the opportunity of several voice changes including the Geordie accent. He was greeted with enthusiastic applause but that applause evaporated into abuse from a corner of the room.

Oi, fat bastard, you’re fuckin’’crap shouted someone hiding inside a hood. He was copied by his three friends who were also shouting similar abuse at him and similarly attired. Clive decided to ignore them and returned to the table where his wife and some friends were sitting. As he sat down, he noticed that the four scumbags were being addressed by two door technicians. Door technicians, he thought to himself, in his day they were called bouncers and didn’t need a university degree to get the job. They were judged in those days on how far they could throw the scumbags and the further they through them, the more in demand they became. No one even cared about the injuries that they may have inflicted. Nowadays, thought Clive, they daren’t even touch the swine for fear of being arrested.

He put the incident behind him and went to the loo for a pee. Whilst washing his hands, the four scumbags came into the gents

Look, who’s here, the old fart who can’t sing.

Clive decided to ignore them but noticed that they had blocked the exit. Before he was able to consider the possible consequencies, the door was pushed open and the two bouncers nonchalantly walked in. Looking at the scumbags, one of them asked

Everything all right? Mr Denbury

Yes, I’m OK. He replied heading towards the door, Perhaps you should tell these kids that you don’t sell ice-cream here.

As he was taking his seat besides his wife he saw the bouncers, who had now doubled in number escorting the kids from the pub in a somewhat less than gentle manner. Clive said nothing to his wife about the incident in the toilet.

The landlord had always regarded Clive as top of the bill and thus, the karaoke session soon ended. Carol and Clive bade farewell to their friends and left just before eleven o’ clock. As they approached their car, parked in a corner in the car park, the four scumbags appeared from behind a people carrier, shouting further vile abuse as they rushed at Carol and Clive. Two pushed Carol to the ground whilst the third bear-hugged Clive from behind to allow the fourth one to rain punches to his face and stomach. They were interrupted by shouts coming from the pub entrance. The scumbag leader who was throwing the punches, said to his mates,

Just one last go before reaching for a knife from his trouser pocket and thrusting it into Clive. As Clive crumpled to the floor, the four scumbags ran off towards the centre of the town.

Carol rushed over to her husband and saw the blood pouring from his stomach. She shouted to the people who had assembled

Someone call an ambulance, quick. Clive’s been stabbed

Both the police and an ambulance had been summoned by the landlord and were soon on the scene. The heroic efforts of the paramedics were all in vain as Clive Denbury; known to the world as Chuck and idolised by thousands had drawn his last breath seconds before the paramedics had arrived.

Chapter 2

Some two hundred or so miles away in a trendy pub in east London, Clive’s son, Kevin had just completed the arrangements for a booking and was quite pleased with himself. Like his father, Kevin had a great love and appreciation for music and with being brought up with contemporary music of the last few decades, it gave him that special feel for that genre of music. He always knew that he could never be as good as his father but that was no deterrent. He ran a band of four people and concentrated on tribute acts mainly those of the Sixties where the Beatles and Rolling Stones were most requested. He would always throw in his father’s bands renditions to an appreciative if sometimes bemused audience. He was regularly asked to do Abba and, of course, this required female additions to the band. These additions usually manifested themselves in the form of his part-time girlfriend, Leah and her friend, Osweena. Neither looked anything like Agnetha or Frida or even sounded like them but when belting out Waterloo or Dancing Queen, they made a passable noise.

The amount of work that they were offered was insufficient to provide any of them with a living, even a very modest one, so gigs had to be scheduled with full time jobs that the members of the band variously held. For Leah and Kevin, these jobs could be different every month or so as neither really wanted to work for anyone other than themselves particularly if that work was boring.

Kevin was currently working as a guide, courier or tour manager, or whatever title was currently in vogue, on a casual basis, for the many companies in London. He was able to show his various employers, the certificates and qualifications needed even though they were fake. He had never been found out because he was good at his job with no one ever needed to check on them.

Not that the lack of money was a real problem to Kevin. His earnings both as a musician and singer or any other jobs that he secured, were never enough to keep his head above water but he had the financial cushion that his apartment in Canary Wharf had been purchased by his father and he was living there rent free. He had this secret agreement with himself that he would include as many Neutrons songs as possible into his gigs which would then create a demand and this ultimately would provide his father with more royalties. Not that he ever told his father of this agreement.

Kevin was in his early thirties but looked younger. He was not a very tall person and was not very remarkable in his build and looks. He was fortunate that he rarely put on weight in spite of his lack of dieting and his craving for chocolate and ice cream. Whilst he was not blessed with the most handsome features that man could have, the opposite sex generally spotted that he had that certain something and that attracted them to him. His eyes were deep blue and his hair, worn short, was an indeterminate colour somewhere between fair and light brown

The job situation and prospects of either Kevin of girlfriend, Leah, was not indicative of their limited intellectual ability, quite the opposite. Both were well educated and very intelligent and both chose to live for the present rather than plan for the future.

Leah, on the other hand, had to make her own financial way through life. Her father was a manager of a large furniture store on the outskirts of Leicester but provided no financial assistance for his daughter. On discovering that she had become pregnant at fifteen, they had distanced themselves from her and when she refused to reveal the name of the father, they threw her out. Leah decided to have an abortion as she was unsure as to whom the father was and in any case, all the boys and men that she had been with up to them, could only be regarded as losers and she wanted nothing to remind her of them. She was forced to make her own way though life after that and for the last ten years or so, had managed very well both in her home city and in London, once she had moved there, even though some of her jobs were quite seedy and bordered on the illegal.

Leah’s personality and demeanour had never diminished over the years and she was as bright and bubbly now as she had ever been. Her one hang-up was the pronunciation of her name and would demonstratively correct anyone mis-pronouncing it.

Physically, she was smaller than Kevin, a good six inches shorter at five foot two inches and much thinner. Her face could be described as bonny rather than beautiful and she had that impish glean in her eyes that could attract most red-blooded males. Her eyes were even bluer than Kevin’s and her hair that was naturally blond, was cut shoulder-length. Leah had the knack of changing her hair style virtually every time Kevin saw her and he now gave up on guessing her appearance in advance.

As a teenager Leah was self-conscious of her lack of shape particularly in the boob department and for years she would buy bras larger than she needed and stuff socks down them to make them look bigger. It wasn’t always successful and she had lost several potential boyfriends when they realised that they were fondling a sock instead of a soft pert boob. She gave up on this tactic and too her delight she soon discovered that just as many men and boys went for girls with the boyish figure as they did for mammoth-titted women. Later in life she found that this could be an advantage.

Later that evening Kevin’s devastating news would bring such a monumental change to his life that he could never imagine.

Chapter 3

It was while Leah had gone for a pee that Kevin reminisced over his first meeting with her. At the time he was working as a part-time photographer with some non-too reputable photographic studio. He was asked to take some pictures of a potential glamour model. He liked that type of assignment as his gentle mannerisms and positive personality could persuade the girls to be very alluring and adventurous. More often than not, he would end up by shagging said girl.

He recalled this particular Monday very clearly.

The studio was situated in a non-too salubrious part of north London, not too far from Kings Cross. He was told to be there soon after lunch. As he climbed the stairs to the first floor, he could hear sensual music and light-hearted chattering. He pushed open the door and saw Lee Kendrick, the photographer chatting up someone who could only be described as a young girl dressed in a red t-shirt and blue jeans that fit snugly around her arse but not so snugly around her legs. The jeans came complete with designer holes with an additional one cut to allow a small peek of her left bum cheek.

The girl was dismissed by Lee and told to go and put on her outfit. Then the surprise came. She soon reappeared dressed in a short white blouse loosely tied above her stomach, a very small pleated mini-skirt which Kevin recognised as coming from the Royal Stewart clan and calf-length socks. He couldn’t believe he first noticed the skirt rather than the body shape underneath it and the legs attached.

Bloody hell, Lee, I might be a bit of a pervert but I’m not a total one. I’m not photographing young girls either in or out of their school uniform

Don’t get your sodding knickers in a twist. She’s no schoolgirl and hasn’t been one for years. Leah he called out to her, tell him how old you are

Leah smiled at him and said

Twenty-three and you’ve got the proof

Kevin still wasn’t totally happy and continued to feel like a pervert whilst he assembled his camera equipment.

Where are these going he asked

One set to Nuts magazine, the second set to Zoo and possible FHM

The girl appeared to be nervous as Lee barked out his instructions. Firstly the poses became more and more provocative, with white knickers being predominantly flashed before the blouse was undone and the small boobs came into view. More seductive shots once the blouse and knickers had been discarded with instructions for the cameraman to concentrate on the girl’s sexy bits and for the girl to keep her legs open as wide as possible. Eventually the shoot came to an end and Leah pulled on her t-shirt.

Right! Lee said, Phase two, now. Most magazines these days, want a little bit more. This is where I join Leah for some more pictures. Kevin, keep snapping particularly when I tell you. He looked towards Leah

Get ready, my girl for the next round She retrieved her knickers and put them back on. Kevin thought the manner in which she did this was one of the most erotic sights he had seen for some time, yet there was nothing deliberately sexy about it. She replaced her t-shirt with the skimpy blouse and tied it, again leaving the buttons undone.

Lee donned a dark brown wig and moved onto the set. As instructed Kevin began to take pictures once Lee had ensconced himself on the floor besides Leah. He watched both through the lens and round it as Kendrick began to kiss and grope the girl. His hands crept seductively inside her blouse and pants and Kevin was urged to take more close-up snaps. The blouse and skirt were eventually discarded with more boob-groping before he turned Leah round so that Lee could concentrate his kissing on her bum cheeks both before and after removing her knickers.

To Kevin’s surprise, Lee suddenly stood up.

Right, that’s it he said to them both. He obviously knew the limits of what was acceptable to his clients. Leah went to the loo to change while Kevin packed up his equipment. Leah returned looking just as sexy in her tight jeans with strategic designer holes and her red t-shirt.

Before you go said Lee, I have a proposition for you both, but before I tell you what it is, I’ll ask you, Leah if you were ok with the shoot?

No problem she replied.

You both could earn some extra cash by going that little bit further in a movie

Where’s this movie going to go? asked Leah

On the internet

How much? asked Leah. Kendrick gave her a figure that she thought was on the low side. There would have to be serious negotiations, thought Leah to herself.

Maybe another time! she replied.

On the way out Kevin offered to buy her a drink which she accepted. In the pub, conversation was easy and comfortable for both of them. After several drinks, Leah asked

Would you like to get a take-away and come back to my place?

Never being one to miss any opportunity like this, Kevin readily accepted.

Good, replied Leah. She opened her large brown suede bag and showed Kevin the contents

You can see that I’ve still got the outfit

Love making that evening was a very memorable affair. Leah looked even sexier in her blouse and kilt, no doubt it was because the show this time was just for his benefit. She was totally uninhibited and all manner of various positions and acts were accomplished. By the time he was due to leave in the morning, Kevin was exhausted but it was the start of a relationship that had that had survived and flourished in one way or another over the past few months.

It was while he was waiting for her to return from the loo, that he received a phone call from his mother.

Chapter 4

One of Leah’s attributes in life was the gift of observance and it was her ability to notice the happenings and events around her, that gave her, her laid-back view of life in general. She spotted Kevin’s change in demeanour as soon as she came out of the loo. She sat down next to him, put her right arm around her shoulder and asked him what was wrong.

My dad’s just been murdered he said softly to her. She knew not to interrupt. Eventually he came out of his trance-like state

Some scumbags attacked him in a pub car park and just stabbed him. I’m going to go back up north as soon as possible

Not tonight? she asked

He looked at her and said no. He would let the alcohol evaporate from his system. Leah called a taxi to take them home. Once there, Kevin packed a bag before retiring to bed

Hope you don’t mind doing without your shag tonight. I don’t think I could raise a smile, yet alone anything else.

Don’t worry, Kev, everything will be ok.

She lay besides him with her arms around him until he fell into a shallow sleep.

***

He was up and showered as the early dawn broke. His early start and light Saturday morning motorway traffic meant that he arrived at his parent’s home before lunch. He was greeted with hugs from his mother and sister, Vanessa. Both had bloodshot eyes and tears once again flowed down their faces. Carol Denbury’s neighbour and friend, Sandra Wilson was on-hand to provide any practical help she could give and soon had the family in the lounge with supplies of coffee and biscuits. Platitudes of condolencies were plentiful.

The police will be here any moment said Carol. As if they were on cue, a car pulled into the drive with two women and one man spilling out once it had stopped. Sandra Wilson opened the door to them and showed them into the lounge. The middle-aged male introduced himself as Detective Inspector Frank Green. He was tall and what one might describe as distinguished-looking with prominent facial features and a generous crop of greying hair, combed back off his forehead. He was dressed in a well-cut dark grey suit with white shirt and a sea-green patterned tie. He introduced his two female colleagues as Detective Sergeant Naomi Gardner and Constable Isabel Valentine.

The Detective Sergeant was in her early thirties with what Kevin would describe as an attractive face and fairish coloured hair that was styled in a fringe at the front and swept up in a ponytail at the rear. She was much smaller than her colleague, maybe only five feet two inches in height and slim in body. She was wearing a silky white blouse and tight dark blue jeans with little more than sandals adorning her bare feet. Isobel Valentine who was not announced as a detective looked and probably was much younger than her female colleague. She was just as thin but a good four inches taller with a more rounded face, equally as attractive, thought Kevin. Her black hair was cut short, not even making it to her shoulders and combed to one side of her face. Whilst she attempted to appear as smart as she could, she failed to match the standard of her colleague. She was dressed in a dark red sweater that accentuated her small breasts and dark