First to Fall
Authors: Carys Jones
Aiden Connelly’s first case…
Lawyer Aiden Connelly has traded the frenzy of Chicago for a slower pace in sleepy Avalon – and his first case appears to be as open-and-shut as he could hope for. Hired to defend a local ex-beauty queen accused of murdering her husband, he’s confident that he’ll have the case closed in record time. But below the surface lurks a darker truth…
Will be one he’ll never forget.
Suddenly, a quiet backwater has transformed into a dangerous pressure cooker. In a town where everyone knows everyone, gathering evidence should be easy… but the harder Aiden searches, the more he appreciates how tangled this net of loyalties is. And as he digs deeper, Aiden begins to realise that his very first case in Avalon could be the beginning of his undoing…
First to Fall
Carys Jones
Contents
Chapter One: Welcome to Avalon
Chapter Three: Little Miss Southern Star
Chapter Five: It Will Be All White
Chapter Seven: Shattered Glass
Chapter Eight: Unhappy Families
Chapter Ten: Father, Can You Hear Me?
Chapter Eleven: People in Glass Houses
Chapter Twelve: Let God Be the Judge
Chapter Thirteen: Unlucky for Some
CARYS JONES
loves nothing more than to write and create stories which ignite the reader’s imagination. Based in Shropshire, England, Carys lives with her husband, two guinea pigs and her adored canine companion Rollo. When she’s not writing, Carys likes to indulge her inner geek by watching science fiction films or playing video games. She lists John Green, Jodi Picoult and Virginia Andrews as her favourite authors and draws inspiration for her own work from anything and everything. To Carys, there is no greater feeling than when you lose yourself in a great story and it is that feeling of ultimate escapism which she tries to bring to her books.
For my number one fan; my Dad
Chapter One: Welcome to Avalon
The dusty road lay empty before him in the fading light. Aiden Connelly rubbed his eyes wearily wondering just how much of his journey was left. Behind him, his little angel, Meegan, slept soundly, oblivious to the dramatic change her life was currently undergoing. His wife stirred in her sleep and Aiden could not help but smile at her tangle of mahogany curls splayed widely around her head. She was usually so immaculate, yet in the throes of sleep she had wrestled around on the uncomfortable seat of the rented car and now resembled a wild woman. This was how Aiden liked his wife, Isla, best. Relaxed, carefree. For so long they had both been so consumed by everything. Even the birth of Meegan had felt like yet another chore, something else to be responsible for, rather than the joy that it should have brought them.
That was why they were here, now. Travelling down an old highway that seemed to be leading them into the middle of nowhere. In reality it was taking them away from it all: the stress, the chaos, the ridiculous pace of the city to a new, quieter life. It was what they needed. Aiden could feel himself becoming a stranger to his family; the hours he needed to spend at the office were increasing daily and he had begun to question his motives in life and the choices he had made. Initially he got into law for the money, but as he progressed through the course he developed a passion for it. Two years working for one of the most prestigious law firms in Chicago was slowly sucking any positive feeling he had had towards his job out of him. He dealt with high-profile cases, they lived in a beautiful penthouse, but Aiden was in serious danger of having no soul.
‘The rat race isn’t for everyone,’ his late father had advised him. ‘Happiness is true wealth.’ It was rather cliché but Aiden could not help but be inspired by the old man’s words. He had grown up in the country, on a farm, and had only happy memories of his childhood. He wanted the same for Meegan. Finding another job was easy considering his previous experience; convincing Isla was the hard part. She loved living in the city, she was always shopping and lunching with friends. As Aiden had pointed out to her, her first love, art, had taken a back seat over the past few years. She had not painted a thing since three summers ago. Admittedly, she had been preoccupied with the arrival of Meegan, but still… Aiden helped her realise that a clean break was what they all needed, surrounded by nature she would undoubtedly be inspired and start painting again in no time.
Dusk was fast turning into night as the headlights of the rented car gleamed upon the approaching roadside.
Avalon – 20 miles
‘Not far now,’ Aiden said aloud.
‘Huh?’ Isla stirred, awoken by his voice.
‘Not far now, honey. We will soon be in Avalon.’
‘Oh good,’ she yawned. ‘I’m really tired.’
‘Tired? You’ve been asleep for half of the journey!’
‘You try sleeping on these chairs; it’s like lying on a rock!’ She snapped her visor down and studied her reflection. ‘Ugh, just look at my hair. Thank God it will be dark when we arrive.’ She turned to check their daughter. ‘Has Meegan been asleep this whole time?’
‘Sure has.’
The couple smiled at one another. It felt good. Aiden dared himself to hope that this was all going to be the start of something wonderful.
Less than an hour later the Connelly family pulled into the driveway of their new home. After driving down what Aiden had assumed was the high street, he had quickly located his new neighbourhood. Avalon was a small, sparse town; he had only spotted one convenience store, along with two churches, a hair salon, a doctor’s surgery and a florist. From various flyers dotted around he had quickly assessed that there was a high school nearby with an impending football match that was obviously of great importance to the community. Given that they didn’t seem to have much else going on this did not surprise him. He had yet to locate his new offices, Cope and May Solicitors at Law, but he had a few days yet before he had to start work so that could wait. Given the size of Avalon he doubted that they would be far away.
‘Well…it’s quaint.’ Isla stood surveying the wooden one-storey property before her. It had certainly seen better days. Like an ageing movie star, if you looked hard enough you could still see the glimmer of something special, that many years ago it had been something magnificent, but now the years had performed their devastating trick and what was once glorious was now faded and lacklustre. Isla imagined that the house had once been a beautiful blue, as bright and wonderful as a summer’s day, but that blue had dulled to a sad shade of grey. The white of the windows had yellowed and the front lawn exposed more dirt than grass. It really was a far cry from the modern, immaculate penthouse she had left behind. It was all she could do not to burst into tears. She hoped that tomorrow things might seem brighter but she knew that in the harsh light of day even more flaws would be exposed to her. This was Aiden’s dream, not hers. But she loved him, and she loved Meegan. In her heart she knew that this had to work, it was their last chance.
‘It certainly has character.’ Aiden wrapped a strong arm around his wife’s delicate shoulders. Instinctively she leant into him.
‘You can paint the house, decorate it inside. Do whatever you like. Just think how great it will feel to be doing something creative again.’
‘And the garden?’
‘Well, now I’m working less I’ll do the garden up a real treat. Get a jungle gym for Meegan, maybe a small pond for you. You’ve always been saying how you would love to have some fish, that you find water soothing.’
Isla smiled, and it was genuine. She could feel the clean air of Avalon filling up her lungs and it felt good. Above her the night sky sparkled and she was amazed at how many stars she could see.
‘I think we can make this work,’ she told her husband hopefully.
‘I know we can, hun. You, me and Meegan, it will be wonderful.’
‘Dada,’ Meegan called from the car, the cool breeze from the open doors awakening her from her slumber.
‘Hey princess,’ Aiden cooed as he lifted her from her car seat. ‘Do you like your new home?’ He turned the tiny toddler to face the house and she rubbed her hazel eyes.
‘Night, night,’ she murmured grumpily, indicating that she wanted to sleep.
‘I second that,’ Isla yawned.
‘Hopefully the movers put everything in the right place.’
Aiden lay in bed counting the cracks on the ceiling. Isla was already fast asleep. The gentle hum of crickets gave a comforting soundtrack to his muddle of thoughts. The house needed a lot of work, the realtor had been very clear about that and he wasn’t lying. The profit they had made on the penthouse would more than cover any costs for maintenance work. Before she had slipped into that oh-so-wonderful world of dreams, Isla had asked him why he had chosen to move to Avalon of all the towns in America. She had drifted to sleep before he could respond, and lying awake next to her, a good hour later, he was still struggling to find an answer.
After three days of intense unpacking, Aiden pulled up outside Cope and May Solicitors at Law. It hadn’t taken him long to locate the modest office since Avalon was so small and it was the only local law firm. Two days previous he had enquired about his future workplace whilst buying groceries and the clerk had been more than helpful, informing him how the business was once run by Edmond Cope and Howard May, but since Howard’s death three years ago Edmond had been going it alone. Apparently he managed fine at first but even a town as small as Avalon has its fair share of legal affairs that needed tending to so, apparently reluctantly, he had advertised for a new partner. This revelation made Aiden a little anxious; Mr. Cope probably had his own way of doing things and would no doubt take all the better cases for himself. Assuming there were any cases at all. Even though he had been there for just a few days, Aiden was already noticing that the pace of life in Avalon was remarkably slow, it was the kind of place where you didn’t bother locking your doors and would happily let your kids play out on the front lawn.
Cope and May was located between Smith’s Pharmacy and Redd Books. In total his journey to work had taken him about ten minutes. Aiden liked the thought of being able to go home for dinner, in Chicago his commute had taken two hours in total. At night he was almost always too exhausted to do anything besides collapse on his bed. Most nights he came home way past Meegan’s bedtime, much to Isla’s annoyance. The past three nights, being there to bath his little girl and read her a goodnight story had been amazing. He had no idea how much he had been missing out on and sacrificing for his job. Even though he knew that working in Avalon would be worlds away from what he was used to, he knew that he was already reaping the benefits. Taking a deep breath he braced himself and walked through the glass front door to the cheerful chimes of a small bell.
‘Good morning,’ a cheerful elderly lady seated at a mahogany desk along the far wall greeted him. Her ashen hair sat atop her wrinkled face like a giant choux bun. Her small frame was adorned with a tight, crisp, white shirt and her glasses hung down from a chain around her neck. The words ‘prim and proper’ sprang to Aiden’s mind.
‘Well good morning, I’m Aiden Connelly.’
‘Ah, Mr. Connelly. How lovely to meet you! I’m Betty Hales, I’ve been secretary here for the past twenty years. Oh, it is most exciting to have you here working with us. Please, do take a seat, I’ll let Edmond, Mr. Cope, know that you are here.’
Aiden obliged and settled himself on one of the two battered leather couches that occupied the waiting room. There was a coffee table littered with magazines, ranging from
Horse and Hound
to
Vogue
, all clearly out of date. The hardwood flooring was surprisingly tasteful and the walls were painted a calming pale shade of green. Aiden guessed that the room had recently been decorated, leaving the ancient-seeming furniture, including the leather couches, one of which he was rapidly sinking into. He hoisted himself up using the arm into a less comfortable-looking position.