Daddy Dearest (22 page)
Authors: Paul Southern
I sat on the other side of the desk from Sherlock. He’d pieced it all together, of course; he didn’t need my testimony. He had phone conversations, CCTV images, circumstantial evidence, and now a body. He didn’t baulk at all the things I told him. I suppose he was trying to keep an open mind. That is the very hardest thing to do. At the end, he turned off the tape recorder and looked at me. I’ve been there many times in my life, waiting for judgement, but now wasn’t one. He didn’t even ask why. There are some things you just can’t explain.
I was led away to face the obloquy and hostility of all those who couldn’t keep an open mind, who rushed to judgement on my dead wife’s, my dear daughter’s, and the poor cleaner’s part. I was branded love cheat, murderer, molester and liar, the very nomenclature of evil, yet I recognised none of it but the last. I had my day, my five minutes in the spotlight, and it burned brighter than a star, and some said I put on a bravura performance, and some also said it was a tragedy, but most were glad to see me locked away.
And you may also feel the same, and I couldn’t really blame you. But maybe some of you have been listening to what I’ve been saying and understood me, and to those I leave my little girl, and all little girls like her, in your safe keeping.
Following an induced labour some time in the 1960s (due date: Halloween night), Paul Southern had his subscription to a normal life revoked by itinerant parents, who moved from city to city. He lived in Liverpool, Belfast, London and Leeds, then escaped to university, where he nearly died of a brain haemorrhage. After an unexpected recovery, he formed an underground indie group (Sexus). Made immediate plans to become rich and famous, but ended up in Manchester. Shared a house with mice, cockroaches, and slugs; shared the street with criminals. Five years later, hit the big time with a Warners record deal. Concerts at Shepherd’s Bush Empire,
Melody Maker
front cover,
Smash Hits
Single of the Week, Radio 1 and EastEnders. Mixed with the
really
rich and famous. Then mixed with lawyers. Ended up back in Manchester, broke.
He got a PhD in English (he is the world's leading authority on Tennyson's stage plays), then wrote his first novel,
The Craze
, based on his experiences of the Muslim community. Immediately nominated to the Arena X Club (the name
Arena
magazine gave to a select group of creative, UK-based men responsible for shaping the way their readers lived and enjoyed their lives). Wrote a second book,
Brown Boys in Chocolate
, which predicted the London bombings. Fell foul of the censors and subsequently gagged by the press. Got ITV interested in a story on honour killings and inter-racial marriages and was commissioned to write a screenplay (
Pariah
) based on his life story. ITV balked at the content. Subsequently, trod the wasteland before finding the grail again: a book deal with children's publisher, Chicken House.
Killing Sound
, a YA horror set on the London Underground, was published by them in September 2014.
Daddy Dearest
is his fourth book.
Paul Southern’s personal website is
www.paulsouthern.org
and he can occasionally be found on Twitter @psouthernauthor.
The Craze
'a taut example of Manchester noir and a worthy look at the shady interactions between white, black and Asian culture in the crime capital of England.'
The Guardian
'A breakneck-paced modern thriller set in Manchester gangland.'
Arena
Brown Boys in Chocolate
'Weird, wicked, but a compelling read.'
The Big Issue
‘A gripping read.'
Metro
Killing Sound
‘a suspenseful, frightening read…hooked me from the first minute.’
The Guardian
'one of the most brilliantly scary stories I have ever heard.’
Barry Cunningham
‘An unbelievably tense atmosphere pervades this terrific teen adventure…’
Books Monthly