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Dec. 25th, 2015 10:07 pm
Mercy's End
Where Mercy Street met Ashbank Road and the hook of Spinner's End, there stood the oldest building in Cokeworth. Older than the twice-burned church and older even than the crumbling foundation of the first coke oven. The old pub on the narrow angle between streets had been known by a variety of names, but for now the sign proclaimed it as Mercy's End.
Dave Aeling watched the skinny man kick the pub door shut behind him. Snape wore a black knit cap and an old leather jacket that looked utterly useless against a winter night, and carried a greasy bag from Markham's chippy down Ashbank. He stomped his boots to knock fresh snow from them. Bits of snow clung to Snape's faded dark denim trousers up to the knees. He brushed his legs clean with one hand and straightened up.
It was a cold night outside and late in the year, and Dave Aeling had questions. When Snape looked around the main room for an empty table, Dave waved him over. Snape blinked once, then nodded. He made his way to Dave's table, stopping at the bar to order.
"Birdy and Tim not with you today?" Snape put two pints and his chips bag on the table. The smell of cheap curry and extra hot sauce rose up to Dave's nose.
"Tim's up in Wednesbury with his sister. Birdy stopped coming to the pub when he stopped drinking."
"Did he?" Snape jammed his face into the chips and started chewing. "G'd f'r h'm."
"No offence Snape, but what are you doing here? This isn't your usual season."
Snape put down his chips and struggled out of his cold-stiffened jacket. As he hung the jacket off the back of his seat, Dave noticed a bulge under Snape's black jumper. The bulge moved like something long and thin strapped close to Snape's chest.
"I felt like coming home for the Christmas season," Snape said. He picked up his chips and started eating again. "Surely there's no crime in that, Sergeant Aeling."
"Just curious," Dave answered. "Hardly saw you at all this summer, and now here you are."
Dave watched Snape ignore the hint, long face in the bag. Dave tried to remember when he had ever seen Severus Snape unshaven before. Maybe years ago, when they were new lads on Spinner's End and shaving was still a mystery. Now Snape was unshaven, half-frozen, and seemed as hungry as a stray dog.
When the chips were gone Snape crumbled up the wrapping and dumped it on the table. He looked around the half-full pub. "The kitchen can't be that busy. Where's Angie?"
"Doesn't work here anymore. She and Old Dave both retired when the Potdars bought the place."
Snape frowned, peering around as if he'd just walked into the Mercy's End for the first time. "When did they do that?" He paused. "Why did they do that?"
The conversation stopped with the arrival of the new girl, Emma, carrying Snape's steak pie and basket of pork scratchings. Snape attacked the steak pie with fork and knife. He washed a mouthful down with his beer and waved at the scratchings. "Have a few if you like."
"Thanks. You must've been busy. Seems like you've worked up an appetite."
"I went for a walk along the canal. For old time's sake. It was colder than I expected." He finished off another mouthful of pie. "What's happening up by the old tow path?"
"You really should have got around more this summer. The borough and National Trust have finally started to get their acts together. They're shoring up the canal banks and the old railway bridge foundations. Next year they start cleaning up the old mill."
"They're not tearing that mess down? Fools."
"Nah. That's prime real estate now. Grade One listed buildings, scenic view of the water, lovely town with historic architecture - "
Snape laughed, one loud barking hah!
"You really should have come to the meetings in August. Did you get your homeowner's letter from the National Trust?"
"I've not checked my mail in a while. I've been a bit... Busy, up at the school."
"Busy?"
"The usual. Meetings, paperwork, all the joys of administration."
"Is 'the usual' why you're carrying that pigsticker under your jumper?"
Snape paused, briefly, while reaching for the pork scratchings. His face didn't change. Then he grabbed some scratchings and popped them in his mouth. When he was done chewing and swallowing he looked at Dave and calmly said "Don't."
"Don't what, Snape?"
"Don't, Aeling. It's not worth it."
Dave shrugged. "We'll talk about something else then." He finished off his first pint and swapped the mug around for the fresh one Snape had brought him. "We could talk about old times. I was just thinking of Lily and her accident, not long back."
"Good for you. You should have joined me on my walk."
"Too cold. What I was thinking was, your story and Petunia's story never did add up - "
"I don't know if you ever noticed this, but Petunia lied whenever it was convenient for her."
"True enough. So where were you out walking tonight?"
"Looking around the tow path, seeing all the old sights."
Dave shook his head. "Not with clean snow on your boots you weren't. It's filthy down there, and the streets up here are no better."
"Are you on duty tonight, Sergeant?"
"Just curious."
"Don't be. It's unhealthy."
Dave leaned forward on the table. "Does this seem backwards to you? The school master warning the police sergeant?"
Snape exhaled slowly, his nostrils flaring. "We were never mates - "
Dave rubbed the old faded knife scar on the back of his right hand. Snape ignored the gesture.
" - but we grew up together on Spinner's End, and as one local lad to another, I'm warning you David Aeling... Don't."
Dave flexed his right hand, watching the thin scar run over the tendons. "I had this coming," he said. Snape watched him.
"Thanks for the warning, Snape. I'll take it to heart."
A bit of tension eased out of Snape's shoulders.
"It might be too late though. I made some phone calls back in September, down to Devon."
Snape's face was a mask. "Has anything come of those calls?"
"Just another call. This one to my chief superintendent, from the Home Office. Letting him know that he should let me know to stop nosing around."
"That... should be the end of it. If you let matters rest."
"So, not a car accident?"
A muscle twitched in Snape's face, almost a smile. "This is not letting matters rest, Sergeant Aeling."
Dave shrugged. "Does anyone from Cokeworth know what happened to Lily? Does anyone who cares know what happened to her?"
"It's your round."
"What?"
"Buy me a pint, Aeling. I'll think about what I can tell you. For old time's sake."
"Anything else?"
"I could murder a basket of Scotch eggs."
"Jesus Christ." Dave went over to the bar to order. He tried not to show his impatience while he waited for his turn to order. Over the years he'd thought off and on about the girl with the green eyes and the stories of her death. It hadn't been until a few months after his promotion from constable that he'd felt comfortable in questioning those stories.
After his turn came up he returned to the table with the drinks. "Well?"
Snape seemed to look through Dave, meeting Dave's eyes with an unfocused gaze. Then he looked at his pint. "Thank you. For the pint. And for remembering Lily."
"Half of Cokeworth remembers Lily. She was the local girl who was going to make something of her life."
"And me?"
"Everyone knew Severus Snape didn't belong on Spinner's End."
"Hah." Snape looked around the pub. "I can tell you... Very little about Lily's death. It wasn't a car accident. It would have been much quicker than a crash, if that makes any difference."
Dave nodded. "I knew something was off. Did this have anything to do with that trouble you got yourself into in the early '80s."
"You - " The mask slipped only for an instant. Snape buried the flash of anger almost as quickly as it had shown. "However you learned of that trouble, for your sake I hope that you were more discrete than when you called to ask about Lily."
"Discrete? Snape, you told me and Birdy about that. Some of it, anyway."
"Ah. I'd hoped you were too drunk to remember that."
"Birdy might've been."
Snape sighed. "Lily and her husband... were very active in the same troubles I was in. On the other side, you understand. You could say we all became involved in politics at that school."
"And they took you back to teach at the same school you were recruited at?"
"Oh yes. As part of my parole. The headmaster was very well connected. Related to all the right families, knew all the right people in the Ministry. So yes, Lily's death was part of... No, was a direct result of, the trouble I got myself into."
"Bloody fucking bleeding hell. Severus fucking Snape, what the fuck were you thinking?"
"I was thinking..." Snape waited for Emma to leave the Scotch eggs and chicken strips Dave had ordered. "I was thinking of the strikes. Remember those? Winter of our Discontent and all that? And I was thinking that they'd closed down the mill and the mines for good a few years before. And that if I wanted to make something of myself, I'd better make myself useful to my friends."
"And what have you made of yourself?"
Dave expected another flash of anger, or for Snape to ignore the question. Instead Snape opened his mouth as if to answer, and then simply froze for an instant. And then the mask settled back into place.
Dave watched Snape, and Snape watched Dave, and for a moment neither man spoke. Finally Dave reached for his drink. "If those troubles aren't all in the past - "
Snape stood and pulled his jacket from the back of the chair. "I should go. I need to get back to the school."
"Get back how? It's nearly ten o'clock. Listen Snape, we may not be mates but I am still a cop. If you need help - "
Pulling on his jacket, Snape shook his head. "For your sake Aeling, please don't press the matter. It could have far worse consequences than merely ruining your career."
"Yeah, I'll let it lie." He looked for the right words. "I just needed to know about Lily. She had friends, you know."
"I know."
"And she deserved to have her friends know at least part of the truth."
Snape paused, looking at Dave again. He stuck out his hand for Dave to take.
"It was good seeing you again, Snape. Come back to the pub sometime soon. Let people know what's going on with you."
Half a smile crooked Snape's face. He squeezed Dave's hand and leaned in a bit closer. "They'll tell you it was an accident, Dave."
And he left.
One late December night at Mercy's End, Severus Snape came in from the cold.
Dave Aeling watched the skinny man kick the pub door shut behind him. Snape wore a black knit cap and an old leather jacket that looked utterly useless against a winter night, and carried a greasy bag from Markham's chippy down Ashbank. He stomped his boots to knock fresh snow from them. Bits of snow clung to Snape's faded dark denim trousers up to the knees. He brushed his legs clean with one hand and straightened up.
It was a cold night outside and late in the year, and Dave Aeling had questions. When Snape looked around the main room for an empty table, Dave waved him over. Snape blinked once, then nodded. He made his way to Dave's table, stopping at the bar to order.
"Birdy and Tim not with you today?" Snape put two pints and his chips bag on the table. The smell of cheap curry and extra hot sauce rose up to Dave's nose.
"Tim's up in Wednesbury with his sister. Birdy stopped coming to the pub when he stopped drinking."
"Did he?" Snape jammed his face into the chips and started chewing. "G'd f'r h'm."
"No offence Snape, but what are you doing here? This isn't your usual season."
Snape put down his chips and struggled out of his cold-stiffened jacket. As he hung the jacket off the back of his seat, Dave noticed a bulge under Snape's black jumper. The bulge moved like something long and thin strapped close to Snape's chest.
"I felt like coming home for the Christmas season," Snape said. He picked up his chips and started eating again. "Surely there's no crime in that, Sergeant Aeling."
"Just curious," Dave answered. "Hardly saw you at all this summer, and now here you are."
Dave watched Snape ignore the hint, long face in the bag. Dave tried to remember when he had ever seen Severus Snape unshaven before. Maybe years ago, when they were new lads on Spinner's End and shaving was still a mystery. Now Snape was unshaven, half-frozen, and seemed as hungry as a stray dog.
When the chips were gone Snape crumbled up the wrapping and dumped it on the table. He looked around the half-full pub. "The kitchen can't be that busy. Where's Angie?"
"Doesn't work here anymore. She and Old Dave both retired when the Potdars bought the place."
Snape frowned, peering around as if he'd just walked into the Mercy's End for the first time. "When did they do that?" He paused. "Why did they do that?"
The conversation stopped with the arrival of the new girl, Emma, carrying Snape's steak pie and basket of pork scratchings. Snape attacked the steak pie with fork and knife. He washed a mouthful down with his beer and waved at the scratchings. "Have a few if you like."
"Thanks. You must've been busy. Seems like you've worked up an appetite."
"I went for a walk along the canal. For old time's sake. It was colder than I expected." He finished off another mouthful of pie. "What's happening up by the old tow path?"
"You really should have got around more this summer. The borough and National Trust have finally started to get their acts together. They're shoring up the canal banks and the old railway bridge foundations. Next year they start cleaning up the old mill."
"They're not tearing that mess down? Fools."
"Nah. That's prime real estate now. Grade One listed buildings, scenic view of the water, lovely town with historic architecture - "
Snape laughed, one loud barking hah!
"You really should have come to the meetings in August. Did you get your homeowner's letter from the National Trust?"
"I've not checked my mail in a while. I've been a bit... Busy, up at the school."
"Busy?"
"The usual. Meetings, paperwork, all the joys of administration."
"Is 'the usual' why you're carrying that pigsticker under your jumper?"
Snape paused, briefly, while reaching for the pork scratchings. His face didn't change. Then he grabbed some scratchings and popped them in his mouth. When he was done chewing and swallowing he looked at Dave and calmly said "Don't."
"Don't what, Snape?"
"Don't, Aeling. It's not worth it."
Dave shrugged. "We'll talk about something else then." He finished off his first pint and swapped the mug around for the fresh one Snape had brought him. "We could talk about old times. I was just thinking of Lily and her accident, not long back."
"Good for you. You should have joined me on my walk."
"Too cold. What I was thinking was, your story and Petunia's story never did add up - "
"I don't know if you ever noticed this, but Petunia lied whenever it was convenient for her."
"True enough. So where were you out walking tonight?"
"Looking around the tow path, seeing all the old sights."
Dave shook his head. "Not with clean snow on your boots you weren't. It's filthy down there, and the streets up here are no better."
"Are you on duty tonight, Sergeant?"
"Just curious."
"Don't be. It's unhealthy."
Dave leaned forward on the table. "Does this seem backwards to you? The school master warning the police sergeant?"
Snape exhaled slowly, his nostrils flaring. "We were never mates - "
Dave rubbed the old faded knife scar on the back of his right hand. Snape ignored the gesture.
" - but we grew up together on Spinner's End, and as one local lad to another, I'm warning you David Aeling... Don't."
Dave flexed his right hand, watching the thin scar run over the tendons. "I had this coming," he said. Snape watched him.
"Thanks for the warning, Snape. I'll take it to heart."
A bit of tension eased out of Snape's shoulders.
"It might be too late though. I made some phone calls back in September, down to Devon."
Snape's face was a mask. "Has anything come of those calls?"
"Just another call. This one to my chief superintendent, from the Home Office. Letting him know that he should let me know to stop nosing around."
"That... should be the end of it. If you let matters rest."
"So, not a car accident?"
A muscle twitched in Snape's face, almost a smile. "This is not letting matters rest, Sergeant Aeling."
Dave shrugged. "Does anyone from Cokeworth know what happened to Lily? Does anyone who cares know what happened to her?"
"It's your round."
"What?"
"Buy me a pint, Aeling. I'll think about what I can tell you. For old time's sake."
"Anything else?"
"I could murder a basket of Scotch eggs."
"Jesus Christ." Dave went over to the bar to order. He tried not to show his impatience while he waited for his turn to order. Over the years he'd thought off and on about the girl with the green eyes and the stories of her death. It hadn't been until a few months after his promotion from constable that he'd felt comfortable in questioning those stories.
After his turn came up he returned to the table with the drinks. "Well?"
Snape seemed to look through Dave, meeting Dave's eyes with an unfocused gaze. Then he looked at his pint. "Thank you. For the pint. And for remembering Lily."
"Half of Cokeworth remembers Lily. She was the local girl who was going to make something of her life."
"And me?"
"Everyone knew Severus Snape didn't belong on Spinner's End."
"Hah." Snape looked around the pub. "I can tell you... Very little about Lily's death. It wasn't a car accident. It would have been much quicker than a crash, if that makes any difference."
Dave nodded. "I knew something was off. Did this have anything to do with that trouble you got yourself into in the early '80s."
"You - " The mask slipped only for an instant. Snape buried the flash of anger almost as quickly as it had shown. "However you learned of that trouble, for your sake I hope that you were more discrete than when you called to ask about Lily."
"Discrete? Snape, you told me and Birdy about that. Some of it, anyway."
"Ah. I'd hoped you were too drunk to remember that."
"Birdy might've been."
Snape sighed. "Lily and her husband... were very active in the same troubles I was in. On the other side, you understand. You could say we all became involved in politics at that school."
"And they took you back to teach at the same school you were recruited at?"
"Oh yes. As part of my parole. The headmaster was very well connected. Related to all the right families, knew all the right people in the Ministry. So yes, Lily's death was part of... No, was a direct result of, the trouble I got myself into."
"Bloody fucking bleeding hell. Severus fucking Snape, what the fuck were you thinking?"
"I was thinking..." Snape waited for Emma to leave the Scotch eggs and chicken strips Dave had ordered. "I was thinking of the strikes. Remember those? Winter of our Discontent and all that? And I was thinking that they'd closed down the mill and the mines for good a few years before. And that if I wanted to make something of myself, I'd better make myself useful to my friends."
"And what have you made of yourself?"
Dave expected another flash of anger, or for Snape to ignore the question. Instead Snape opened his mouth as if to answer, and then simply froze for an instant. And then the mask settled back into place.
Dave watched Snape, and Snape watched Dave, and for a moment neither man spoke. Finally Dave reached for his drink. "If those troubles aren't all in the past - "
Snape stood and pulled his jacket from the back of the chair. "I should go. I need to get back to the school."
"Get back how? It's nearly ten o'clock. Listen Snape, we may not be mates but I am still a cop. If you need help - "
Pulling on his jacket, Snape shook his head. "For your sake Aeling, please don't press the matter. It could have far worse consequences than merely ruining your career."
"Yeah, I'll let it lie." He looked for the right words. "I just needed to know about Lily. She had friends, you know."
"I know."
"And she deserved to have her friends know at least part of the truth."
Snape paused, looking at Dave again. He stuck out his hand for Dave to take.
"It was good seeing you again, Snape. Come back to the pub sometime soon. Let people know what's going on with you."
Half a smile crooked Snape's face. He squeezed Dave's hand and leaned in a bit closer. "They'll tell you it was an accident, Dave."
And he left.
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